The Top 11 of 2011
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A rundown of our top eleven IP & Technology stories of 2011:
ICANN's Move to Allow For New Domain Names
On 20 June, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN), the organisation that oversees Internet domain names, voted overwhelmingly in favour of one of the biggest changes in the web’s history, allowing a major expansion in the range of web suffixes available for registration.
Clarification of ISP responsibility for Internet File Sharing
The ECJ has, in a judgment released today (Scarlet Extended SA (“Scarlet”) v Societe belge des auteurs, compositeurs et editeurs (“SABAM”), Case C-70/10), indicated that an order requiring a Belgian internet service provider to filter certain peer to peer files is not permissible under EU law.
Ireland Implements New E-Privacy Laws on the Use of Web Cookies
Ireland has transposed the new E-Privacy Directive 2009/136/EC. The Directive amends the E-Privacy Directive 2002/58/EC and has attracted much attention due to the new rules it imposes in relation to the use of internet cookies.
Challenges facing the Copyright Review Process
I have been mulling over the review of Irish copyright law recently announced by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton. This is a commendable initiative and it is reassuring to see that that it has been staffed by a review committee (chaired by Dr. Eoin O’Dell, a lecturer at Trinity College Dublin and blogger) with expertise in the copyright field.
Data Protection - The Article 29 Working Party issues Opinion on the definition of "consent"
The EU's Article 29 Working Party has issued an Opinion on the definition of "consent" in which it examines the individual elements and requirements for consent to be valid under the Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC) and the e-Privacy Directive (2002/58/EC). The Opinion also includes recommendations for improving the concept of consent in the context of the ongoing review of the Data Protection Directive.
BRENNANS - CONFUSING BROWN BREAD!
For the later part of this year, I have been watching with great interest (partly due to a fondness for the subject matter) the passing off case involving bread makers McCambridge’s and Brennans. McCambridge’s sued Brennans claiming deliberate copying of its brown bread packaging which would cause confusion within the market.
CJEU Rules that Unified Patent Litigation System is Incompatible with EU Treaties
You might recall that last April we wrote about the long awaited opinion from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the European Council’s draft agreement establishing a new European and Community Patent Court (Patent Court). That opinion was finally issued in March with the CJEC ruling that the draft international agreement put forward by the Council is incompatible with EU Treaties.
Reform of the EU's Data Protection Directive expected in early 2012
The Vice President of the European Commission and EU Justice Commissioner, Viviane Reding, recently issued a statement regarding the proposed reform of the Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC), indicating the proposal will be published in early 2012.
Copyright in Sound Recordings Extended to 70 Years
A new EU Directive extending the term of copyright protection in sound recordings from 50 years to 70 years has been recently passed. The ultimate aim of the new Directive is to help bridge the gap between the level of copyright protection given to authors and composers (70 years after their death) and that previously afforded to performers (50 years after the date of the initial performance). Colloquially it has been referred to as “Cliff Richard’s Law” because of this promise to ensure veteran rockers continue to earn royalties into their old age.
Clarification from the ECJ on IP Infringement Control in E-Commerce
A recent ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on 12 July 2011 in the L'Oreal v. eBay case is an interesting one as it goes some way toward clarifying the law with regard to IP infringement control in the area of e-commerce.
Report on Data Breach Notifications in the EU
The E-Privacy Directive (2009/136/EC), which formed part of the EU telecommunications regulation reform package passed in November 2009, makes it mandatory for public communications providers (i.e. ISPs and telcos) to inform national authorities of any data security breaches. Member States have until 25 May 2011 to transpose this Directive.
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The Commission has invited interested parties to make submissions to it regarding EU competition law rules for the assessment of technology transfer agreements, i.e. patent, know-how and software licensing. The current regime consists of a block exemption regulation ("TTBER") that create a safe harbour for certain agreements, as well as on the assessment of agreements that fall outside the TTBER. The current TTBER exempts certain agreements that are considered to be non-problematic from a competition law perspective under European law. To qualify for an exemption, agreements need (i) to produce positive effects which outweigh the restrictions inherent in the agreement and (ii) be concluded either between rivals who have less than 20% market share or between non-competitors who have less than 30% market share. The TTBER also defines certain hardcore restrictions, which never qualify for an exemption, such as fixing of prices charged to third parties.
A recent decision (Ardis Health LLC et al. v. Nankivell)of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dated 19 October 2011, provides a good insight into the best practices for parties contracting in the social media space..jpg){kind=small}
Two recent cases which were jointly heard before the Court of Justice (Joined Cases C-509/09 and C-161/10 - eDate Advertising GmbH v X and Olivier Martinez, Robert Martinez v MGN Limited), have resulted in a useful clarification of the law in relation to jurisdiction in circumstances where allegations of defamation have been levelled against a party who operates an online publication. The Court considered the wording of Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001 and, in particular, it was asked to clarify the meaning of Article 3(2) of the Regulation which provides that;.jpg)
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On 20 June, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN), the organisation that oversees Internet domain names, voted overwhelmingly in favour of 
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request the UK Cabinet Office has this month published its latest ("Phase 2") reports on the G-Cloud Programme. The G-Cloud Programme sets out to define how the public sector could utilise the cloud computing approach to ICT delivery and to explore what benefits and challenges this approach creates. The G-Cloud Programme is a core element of the UK Government's ICT Strategy and is an enabler of cost savings targets for the 2011-2014 period, as well as other government objectives such as enhanced public services, improved data centre services and the green agenda. 
On 16 December 2010, the collective of EU data protection authorities, the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, adopted .jpg)
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The EC Commission has launched this month a public consultation on the future of electronic commerce in the internal market, and the implementation of the Directive on electronic commerce (2000/31/EC) (the Directive)..jpg)
The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party recently published an Opinion clarifying new EU rules concerning the use of cookies and similar devices..jpg)
The much anticipated file sharing case EMI & Ors v UPC began this morning in the Commercial Court before Mr Justice Charleton. 
The High Court in London has issued a landmark judgment in the long-running dispute between BSkyB and EDS. BSkyB claimed in excess of £700m in damages from EDS alleging that EDS’s bid team made fraudulent misrepresentations and breached their contract in the manner in which they won and subsequently performed the contract to supply and install a customer relationship management system for BSkyB. BSkyB ultimately claimed that EDS failed to deliver the system and as a result BSkyB had to develop the system in-house. The case is the first fraudulent misrepresentation case involving an IT project to proceed to the English Courts.
In a recent report, the Irish Council for Bioethics has 
